We turned one of our Spanish classes into a date class, learning how to ask girls out and having Carla teach us some useful pick up lines! It was great fun. Later that day we went into town and David Miller got to skip his Spanish class to come with us, but  the catch was that he had to take a video of him talking to a Chilean girl.

It was some good laughs watching David try and try, but he just failed every time. The 1st girl he tried to pick up was this 40 year old woman on the beach. He did not realize she was that old until he tried  to talk to her! That gave us all a good laugh. At the end of the town trip I decided to step in and give David a hand, too bad it did not help at all!  We both got shut down. hmmmmm …. We then realized we need to work on our  Spanish more before we could get some girls.  So its back Spanish class to practice up for our next town excursion!

As previously mentioned, this week is focused solely on playboating. The students will be competing in the NOC Shoot-out this weekend, up against all the playboating superstars. (I’ll be sure to post the results!) After many hours of practice on the NOC wave this week, I’m confident that they will do great! The wave here is a bit special – it is a man made wave, formed by a collective effort of throwing rocks into the river. There is even a sign posted which reads, “Please do not change the wave!” There will also be an attainment (upriver) race, which some of the staff are competing in.

The group is getting along great. We are taking advantage of this excellent group space to play evening games of Catan and Scrabble. Last night we celebrated Alex Anderson’s 16th birthday with a German chocolate cake. All the students are upbeat and excited about this weekend’s competition.

Our base here is somewhat of a traveling-teacher’s dream, with tables and quiet study space galore. Several students are working on cool projects to break up the monotony of indoor work, such as Tino’s survival class, which is stirring up some fresh, country apple jam!

I hope everyone is doing well back home, and be sure to check back after the weekend for competition results.

Callie

Lorenzo en el Rio Negro

Katie Kowalski

hanging out in camp

Every morning, the students emerge from their cozy tents, tucked away in the security of the mossy trees. Our campsite here in Hornopiren is perched atop a grassy knoll that slopes gently downward into  a craggy ravine, directly to a gorgeously turquoise 10-foot waterfall. This waterfall makes up one of three that we have been running on the Rio Negro, whose tantalizing whitewater is so close to our tents that we can hear it in our dreams. We are enjoying the wonderful countryside hospitality of our host, Dona Tato, who has been serving up three delicious meals a day- she is even spoiling us with homemade pastries for breakfast. Nights are rolling away while we congregate around the campfire, singing along to Tino and Matti’s guitar and Andy’s fiddle. Lorenzo’s ghost stories have us all convinced that his family’s home is haunted.

Weather has been delightful- sunny, warm, perfect, and has allowed for our classes to cluster around the funky, hand-made wooden tables in the yard. My AP English students had a fun project this week, where they learned the importance of being familiar with both sides of an arguement before taking a stance on it. I had them prepare to write a persuasive essay on a controversial topic, repeatedly warning them to investigate the opposition’s viewpoint as well. When the day of the in-class essay arrived, the looks of horror on their faces revealed my sneaky plan. That’s right, they had one hour to write an essay that was exactly the opposite of the thesis they had planned. Matt’s photo classes have been utilizing the gorgeous sunsets and surrounding countryside to explore the world of landscape photography. Taylor and Eric made slideshows showcasing Al Capone and the Flapper era for Tino’s history class.

Today we had a race down the Rio Negro, on a small section beginning with a 25-foot waterfall and ending with a bang as the students landed that boof from the top of the 10-footer. What a great way to end our time in Hornopiren. I left the students back at camp, packing up their tents and gear bags, preparing to rise and shine at 5:30 am tomorrow. We will get on an eight hour ferry to Chaiten, where we will be about two hours away from the town of Futaleafu. I’m sure everyone shares my excitement in experiencing this legendary river!

Our daily schedule begins with Taylor and I furiously scribbling sentences in Creative Writing; currently, we are dissecting Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. Taylor’s passion for words makes her a delight to have in class! My AP English seniors, Stephen, Matti and Tracy,  are analyzing their opinions on the effects of war and the possibility of peace as we read Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.  Zoe and Kyle are busy discussing Alice in Wonderland as an allegory for adolescence, and writing endlessly, developing skills to construct the perfect essay. In World Literature, Eric, Alex and Clay just finished essays on the importance of freedom after reading Ayn Rand’s Anthem. Now we are studying Chilean history as we embark on The House of the Spirits, a political, semi-autobiographical novel by Isabel Allende, one of Chile’s best-known authors. My British Lit students, Jessica and Chase, are reading poetry by Chaucer and Shakespeare as they dream up sonnets and soliloquys of their own.

Student dynamics are great in all of my classes, and I am thrilled with the level of cooperation and the willingness to discuss.

Callie Morgigno